Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2004

Lemon curd, white peach and crushed limestone open with quiet confidence, the wine's cool-vintage origins immediately apparent. Fine bubbles carry an almost chalky tension through the mid-palate, underscoring a lean, focused structure that hasn't budged from its original architecture. Age has rounded the harder edges without surrendering the precision — there's a lovely interplay now between the softened texture and the bright, nervy acidity beneath. This will always sit on the restrained, contemplative end of the Comtes spectrum, but that's exactly its appeal. Drink now through 2030.